Porpoise vs Dolphin

Sailors and fishermen term Porpoise as small Dolphins. There are a few similarities between both, like they both are aquatic mammals. Apart from this the other similarities include, inability to hear in the air, spindle shaped bodies that help to swim, blubber to accumulate heat in cold aquatic conditions and lack of fur. More similarities include, echolocation for movement, which is defined as locating objects by time taken for sound waves to hit the object and come back and both can inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide on surface only.

Differences

The comparison can be done based on facts related to various species of the 2 and the differences in their organs. There are 3 major differences between the two mammals. These are as follows.

1: Types of Dolphins are categorized into 40 different species, whereas Porpoises are categorized into 6 species.

2: Porpoises have spade shaped teeth, that are flattened, whereas Dolphins have yellowish, sharp and pointed teeth.

3: There are 6 types of Porpoise, belonging to the family Phocoenidae which inhabit oceans, whereas, there are 40 species of Dolphins. Majority of them inhabit sea water, however, there are 5 types which are found in freshwater.

4: Dolphins belong to Delphinidae species, whereas Porpoises belong to Phocoenidae species. Porpoises are small compared to Dolphins, but stouter. There is a prominent difference in the dorsal fins of these 2 mammals. Dolphin's dorsal fins are long and curved towards the back, whereas, Porpoises have dorsal fins, that resembles Shark's. They are triangular in shape.

5: Female Porpoises are approximately 1.7 mt or 5.5 ft long, whereas males are approximately 5 ft long. Dolphins have variety of lengths between 1.2 mt - 9.5 mt and the weights are in the range of approximately 38 kg - 9.5 Tons. It should be noticed that rarely, Dolphins can be a little bigger and heavier or smaller and lighter than the ranges cited above. Porpoises weigh and measure in the ranges cited above.

6: One of the remarkable differences between Porpoises and Dolphins is the difference in their nature and behavior. One of the interesting facts is that they are more social and appear in a lot of marine shows. Dolphins enjoy communicating with humans through these shows and entertain crowds and are more acrobatic, whereas Porpoises are a little shy mammals and come to surface only at the time of breathing.

7: Dolphins sea whistle under water to communicate, whereas Porpoises do not sea whistle under water.

8: Porpoise's diet consists of crustaceans, squid and fish, whereas Dolphin's diet comprises fish.

This was the difference between the two mammals based on their physical appearance, behavior, length and weight, dietary needs, places where they reside, their species and structure of their teeth. I guess the next time you see a creature that looks like a Dolphin or Porpoise, you would be able to recognize if it's a Dolphin or a Porpoise.